The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Nuclear reactor pressure vessels periodically require inspection, maintenance and refueling. To perform inspections, maintenance and refueling work, reactor personnel must be able to access various areas of the pressure vessel. Typically, to obtain such access, the refueling floor, i.e., area around the pressure vessel, includes large platforms that allow personnel to work around and over the vessel. For example, some refueling floors may include large fixed annular platforms around the periphery of the vessel that allow personnel to access the walls and peripheral area of the vessel by walking around the platform and to access the center area via buggy devices, hoists or winch-like devices mounted to the annular platforms. Other refueling floors may include bridge structures that span the vessel and are mounted to tracks along opposing sides of the vessel. To allow personnel access to the vessel, the bridge may be moved along the tracks to position the bridge across the vessel at a desired location.
Although such known service platforms are generally sufficient to perform the necessary maintenance and refueling tasks, they are typically designed and constructed to accommodate the particular structural specifics and configuration of each respective reactor.